Gilbert Eijkelenboom
Dec 14, 20201 min
Do you want to become a π―π²πππ²πΏ ππΏπΆππ²πΏ?
This advice changed my writing forever:
ππΌπ»'π ππΏπΆππ² ππΌπΏπ±π. πͺπΏπΆππ² πΊπππΆπ°.
Gary Provost, a famous writer, demonstrated this beautifully:
βThis sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. Itβs like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.
Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length.
And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbalsβsounds that say listen to this, it is important.β